PART FOUR.
With the primer dry it's time to start the first 'real' painting. Following the advice and notes from Wayne, Wojtek and Jan, and after buying those Tamiya acrylics I could get, I experimented with colour mixes. (It would have helped if this numpty had remembered to take the note of the colour numbers with him when he went to the model shop!!)
The first colour to go on, following normal procedures, was the lightest, RLM76, (Hellgrau/Weissblau) or as near as possible. With the available colours, white XF-2 was mixed with black XF-1, some medium blue XF-18, and a spot or two of X-4 blue, until a light, grey/blue shade was obtained. This was deliberately mixed lighter in shade than required, to form an undercoat over the light grey enamel primer.
As this is the very first time I have sprayed acrylics, I experimented with the thinning ratios, practicing on an old model kept for this very purpose. The thinners used were a mixture of Tamiya acrylic thinner, to give a smooth and even mix of the paints, then water, poured sparingly into the paint jar, until what seemed like the right consistency was achieved.
Once happy with the results, the first coat was applied to the model Gustav, with the entire fuselage, fin and rudder being painted, as well as the underside of the mainplane and tailplanes. This was a bit hit and miss at first as, the colour being very close to that of the primer, it was difficult to see where the first coat was going! After allowing some time for drying, a further two coats were applied, working around the panel lines, in order to achieve a form of pre-shading.
PICTURES 1 to 2 show the results.
This was left overnight to fully harden, mainly because, by this time, it was 03:00 hours!
The next step was to build up this base colour, and this was achieved by adding some dark grey XF-24 to the mix, with a touch more medium blue XF-18, and lightening the mix with the whiteXF-2.
PICTURES 3 to 4 show this, although the lighting used is not my normal set-up, and the colours still look similar. They appear lighter than required, and this is deliberate, in order to allow for the 'darkening' effect of the clear coats which will eventually follow. Depending on the resulting finish, I estimate up to five coats of clear will be sprayed on; probably two gloss coats, followed, after decalling, by two, or possibly three coats of semi-matt, all of which will be based on Johnson's 'Klear' (Future).
PICTURES 5 to 6 show the beginnings of the first top surface camouflage colour, RLM75 Grey. This was mixed following Wayne's reccommendations, but adjusted slightly due to my not getting all of the correct colours! Again, a little experimentation produced a slightly lighter grey than ultimately required, and this was ghosted onto the fuselage and upper wings and tailplanes, followed by two successive coats, the last one with a little more green XF-26 added. This produced a grey-with-a hint-of-green shade, which is just about discernible in the lighting used for the pics.
Once dry, a further thin coat was added, this time with more dark grey, medium blue and white added to the mix. Again, this is slightly lighter than usual, and allows the greenish tint to just 'show through'. Notice some slight streaking, which will be rectified during the next spraying session; that's my fault, as I had the airbrush at the wrong angle!
Finally, before finishing ready for the next, darker shade of grey, RLM 74, the existing mix was lightened slightly, and the first light mottle applied to the fuselage sides, blending into the upperdecking colour. This is shown in PICTURE 7.
Once the final topside colour is applied to the fuselage and wings, the fuselage sides will be lightly retouched around the base and the tailplane area, using the RLM76 mix, then the darker mottle will be sprayed on.
The final picture shows the little gem of a compressor used to do the work. It's the very cheap one I bought a few weeks ago, for £42 new ($73 U.S.), and has proven to be brilliant!
Over the weekend, I hope to bring you the next part, showing the final main painting stages, together with the work on some of the detail items, including the scratch-built shoulder harness.
There's still a fair way to go on the painting, varnishing and finishing but, up to now, this kit has been a joy to work with. I have to keep reminding myself that it's a less than £10 cheapo kit, cheaper than some smaller-scale kits, and I think it's going to turn out rather nice (barring my making a right b***s of it somewhere along the line!).
Terry.